Linux Entertainment Center

 

 

How to configure an old computer to be a Linux entertainment center.  All you need is a TV tuner card.  I use the HD-5500 and it is supported well with LINUX.  Others should work also.  I have one 120BG solid state drive for the operating system and I also have two 2 Terabyte hard drives that are set up as a raid to store TV shows.  -5500

 

This is updated for UBUNTU 16.04 LTS.

 

Download Ubuntu ISO.  Choose either 32 bit or 64 bit. Only choose 64 bit if your processor can support it.

 

Burn UBUNTU to a DVD.  Put the DVD in the PC and boot to the DVD drive.

 

The screen will flicker a few times as Ubuntu loads.  You will see activity bars under the Ubuntu logo.  It takes a while.

 

Install it to your hard drive.

 

  • Click “Install Ubuntu” button

 

  • Check download updates while installing
  • Check install 3rd party software
  • Click “Continue”

 

  • Click Erase and install
  • Click “install now”
  • You may get a warning that you will overwrite the disk.   Click "Continue"

 

  • Enter Location and "Continue"
  • Enter Keyboard layout and "Continue"

 

  • Enter your name
  • Enter a computer name.  For some reason 16.4 kept telling me that the user name was already used on the network.  It was not.  After all info in the box was entered, the warning went away.
  • Enter a password
  • Check “Log in automatically”
  • "Continue"

 

 Wait a few minutes while Ubuntu loads.  You will get a note that installation is complete.

 

  • Remove Ubuntu CD
  • Click “Restart Now”.  16.4 hung up after the button was pressed to restart.  I just turned the power off and on to reboot.

 

Update Ubuntu

 

  • Click on the "Search your Computer" icon in the launcher.  I should be the top one.  Type "software" in the search box.  "Software Updater" and others will appear. 
  • Click the "Software updater" icon.
  • Update software.
  • While software updater is running, right click the updater icon in the launcher.  Click "lock to launcher"
  • After updater is finished, click “Restart Now”

 

Install Software required

 

Click on Ubuntu Software Center in launcher in left margin

 

  • VLC
  • Synaptic package manager

 

Make a launcher icon for terminal

 

  • CTRL + ALT + T to open terminal window.
  • Right click on terminal icon in launcher > Click “lock to launcher”

 

Install Kaffeine TV player

 

  • Open terminal from the launcher
  • In terminal type
    • sudo apt-get update
    • sudo apt-get install kaffeine
  • Click search your computer in launcher
  • type kaffeine in search
  • You should see kaffeine.  Click it.  Kaffeine will open.
  • In the launcher locate Kaffeine.  Right click and lock to launcher.

 

Install Google Chrome (for Netflix)

  • Go to   https://www.google.com/intl/en-US/chrome/browser/
  • Click "Download Chrome"
  • Select correct version
  • "accept and install"
  • Open the file
  • "Install"
  • Terminal
    • google-chrome
  • While chrome is open, right click on the chrome icon.  Select lock to launcher.
  • Go to www.netflix.com
  • Sign in
  • Save password.
  • Click to bookmark

 

Delete Amazon Icon from launcher

 

Configure Firefox

 

Remove unnecessary applications

 

  • Open Synaptic Package Manager. 
  • Search for Libreoffice. 
  • Click on all packages with a green square next to to them.  Mark for complete removal.
  • Click apply
  • Note: I use Openoffice.  You just don’t need it to record TV shows. If you have lots of disk space, leave it on.
  • Repeat for Thunderbird 

 

Configure screen settings

 

  • Click System Settings on launcher > Brightness and Lock
  • Turn off when inactive for 1 hour.
  • Slide Lock to off
  • Uncheck require password when waking up from suspend

 

Turn stick edges off Unlock edges

 

Configure sound settings

 

  • Click System Settings on launcher > Sound
  • Move Volume slider to about 75 %

 

Install printer

  • Even from my TV, I seem to need to print.
  • Click System settings on launcher > printers
  • Click + (add printer)
  • Select network printer
  • Select the printer
  • Click forward

 

Configure two drives as a RAID

 

  • Install two hard drives and format them to the same size partition.  Use software > Disks.  Do not mount the drives.
  • Use Disks to determine the device names for the two disks like /dev/sda1 and /dev/sdb1
  • Install mdadm
    • Terminal
    • sudo apt-get install mdadm
    • sudo mdadm --create --verbose /dev/md0 --level=1 --raid-devices=2 /dev/sda1 /dev/sdb1
  • The raid should be created.
  • Open disks
  • Select the raid on the left.
  • Click on additional partition options.
  • Format the raid.
  • Mount the RAID.  Record the device (like /dev/md/127) and mounting location.  Set up the automount below.
  • cd /        Note: don't forget the space
  • sudo mkdir raidmount
  • sudo chown username raidmount
  • ls -l      Note: This will list the directory and you can verify the raidmount directory is there with you as the owner
  • Backup the disk.
  • terminal sudo gedit /etc/fstab on the bottom line type
    • /dev/md127 /raidmount ext4 defaults,noatime,rw 0 0
    • Where /dev/md127 is the device name from above step. 
    • Save and close gedit
    • In terminal sudo mount -a
    • This should cause the raid to mount.  If it doesn't, there is an error and DO NOT REBOOT or you will lock up the machine.  Delete the erroneous line until the mount command loads the raid.
  • Reboot, the raid should be automatically loaded with the location raidmount.
  • sudo nautilus
    • click computer   you should see files in the root directory
    • Single click the raidmount folder.
    • Right click and select make a link.  A link will appear.
    • Drag the link to your desktop.
    • This is the link to your raid folder.
    • Single click on raidmount.  Right click > properties
    • Permissions
    • Local network share
      • Share this folder
      • May get a note sharing service not installed
        • Click install service
        • Click install additional software
      • comment if you like
      • Allow others to create and delete
      • Allow guest access
      • Create share
      • Permissions
        • Change permissions for enclosed files
        • Change to read and write
        • Create and delete files
        • Click change
      • add the permissions at the pop up.

 

Configure Kaffeine

 

  • Click Kaffeine on launcher
  • Select Television tab on the left
  • Click the Configure Television icon
    • Change recording folder to /home/yourusername/Videos
    • Change time shift folder to /home/yourusername/Videos
  • Click the Device1 tab.
    • Set the Source as “US-ATSC-center frequencies-8VSB”
  • Click OK
  • Click on the channels icon Television > Channels
    • Source ATSC
    • Start Scan
    • Select channels you like and click “Add Selected”

Autostart kaffeine

  • Click search your computer
  • type "start" in search
  • Click startup
  • Click add
  • Add Kaffeine

 

Install Plex Streaming Server

  • Go to https://www.plex.tv/downloads/
    • Click download
    • Select Linux and download and select version
    • Click save file
    • Open downloads folder
    • Click plexmediaserver file
    • Left click open with software install
    • Install the software
    • Terminal sudo /etc/init.d/plexmediaserver start  
    • Open Firefox.  In the address line go to:
    • http://localhost:32400/web
    • This will open the plex administration tool
    • You can also configure Plex server remotely by replacing localhost with the IP address of the Plex server.

 

Install Lirc for remote control

 

  • Sudo apt-get install lirc
  • use arrow keys to select "windows media center transceivers/receivers all.

 

 

Install Kodi to view videos

 

  • Open Ubuntu software center search for Kodi
  • Click install
  • Add video locations
  • Services>UPNP>DLNA>share my libraries,

 

 

***********************************End Configuration ***************************************

 

Other Linux functions

 

 

To automatically connect to a remote hard drive (external storage) you need to create local mount points

 

  • Open Terminal
  • sudo nautilus
  • nautilus file manager will open
  • Click computer > doubleclick media
  • Right click and select create a new folder.
  • Name the folder ddvr750 (or whatever you want)
  • Right Click on folder.  Go to properties > Permissions Tab.  Change permissions for the owner and group to username to create and delete. You may need to use arrow at the top to find the name.
  • Right click the ddvr750 and “Make Link” to the file
  • Drag the link the desktop.
  • Delete the link folder in the media folder  
  • Right click and select create a new folder
  • Name the folder twotraid
  • Right Click on folder.  Go to properties > Permissions Tab.  Change permissions for the owner and group to username to create and delete. You may need to use arrow at the top to find the name.
  • Right click the twotraid and “Make Link” to the file
  • Drag the link folder to the desktop.
  • Delete the link folder in the media folder
  • Close Nautilus
  • Break
  • sudo gedit /etc/fstab
  • under the last line write

 

//192.168.0.50/ddvr750/tvixhd1 /media/DDVR750 cifs username=yourusername,password=yourpassword,_netdev,uid=youruid,gid=users 0 0

 

//192.168.0.50/twotraid /media/twotraid cifs username=yourusername,password=yourpassword,_netdev,uid=youruid,gid=users 0 0

 

  • Replace yourusername is the user name on the remote computer you are trying to access
  • Replace yourpassword with the password for the remote computer you are trying to access
  • Replace youruid is the user ID on the local Linux machine you are setting up
  • Restart

 

Install SAMBA

  • Install handbreak to convert file types.

 

Install SAMBA

  • Open Synaptic Package Manager
  • Search for samba in textbox at top and Mark for installation (Already installed in 16.4)
  • Apply Change
  • sudo apt install samba
  • Reboot required

 

Install gedit

gedit already installed in 16.4

  • Terminal
  • sudo apt-get install gedit

 

Configure SAMBA to access network files

 

  • sudo gedit /etc/samba/smb.conf
  • Change workgroup = to the name of the workgroup you want.
  • Save

 

Install mmv (move)

 

  • Terminal
  • sudo apt-get install mmv
  • Install it

 

Install VNC to allow recording remotely

 

  • Open ubuntu software center
  • Install x11vnc server

 

Set up a cron job to shut the computer down at 1:30 AM

 

  • sudo gedit /home/yourusername/Documents/shutdown.cron
  • Note ** Documents is capitalized.
  • A window will open. Type in the following:
  • 30 1 * * * /sbin/shutdown –P now(carriage return)
  • Note ** immediately after now is a carriage return or enter - very important!
  • Save it
  • sudo crontab –u root /home/username/Documents/shutdown.cron

 

Set up a cron job to move video files to remote drive at 00:01

 

  • sudo gedit /home/yourusername /Documents/move.cron
  • Note ** Documents is capitalized.
  • A window will open. Type in the following:
  • 01 00 * * * mmv -x "/home/yourusername/Video/*.*" "/media/twotraid"(carriage return)
  • Note ** immediately after now is a carriage return or enter - very important!
  • Save it
  • sudo crontab –u root /home/yourusername/Documents/move.cron

 

Allow Remote Access

  • Terminal
  • sudo apt-get install xrdp

 

Validate cron jobs

  • sudo crontab -e
  • you will see:
    • 30 1 * * * /sbin/shutdown –P now
    • 01 00 * * * mmv -x "/home/yourusername/Video/*.*" "/media/twotraid"
    • There will be an empty line below the last entry

 

If you are connecting to a windows 7 machine you need to configure it.

 

  • Open Windows 7 Local Group Policy or Local Security policy > Goto Computer configuration >
  • Policies > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options >
  • On the right hand side select “send unencrypted password to connect to third party SMB servers and enable.